2012 Savigny Les Beaune Les Lavieres

The 2012 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavieres offers an entrancing bouquet that is floral in nature at this early stage, with plenty of dark cherries, cassis and incense notes emerging from the glass. The palate has a sorbet-like freshness on the entry that almost distracts you from the fine tannic lattice that defines the finish. This is a very sophisticated Savigny for long-term aging. Sometimes it can be a hindrance when wines are uniformly good. As I quipped to Hugues Pavelot, a writer prefers to use a sliding rule of adjectives rather than synonyms for “excellent”. But I had no other recourse tasting through a scintillating set of Savigny-les-Beaune wines from quite possibly the village’s finest producer. The harvest here commenced on September 20 with low yields hovering around 20-25 hectoliters per hectare, bunches fully de-stemmed. Furthermore, the domaine’s portfolio has been curtailed, as some parcels leased from their aunt in Pernand-Vergelesses have had to be relinquished. Their 2012s, which were taken directly from barrels that had just been racked, were surfeit with energy, vivacity, purity and terroir expression, to the point where I had to ask, what more could you want from such wines? Chapeau Hugues et Pierre-Yves Pavelot! Importer: Becky Wasserman Selection (various importers), Le Serbet, Beaune; fax 011-33-3-80-24-29-70

This is also highly restrained, indeed to the point that only aggressive swirling can coax the broad-ranging nose to reveal its aromas of dark currant, ripe plum, spice and pungent earth scents. Here too there is excellent concentration and drive to the mineral-inflected flavors that completely coat the mouth on the equally firm, serious and strikingly long finish. This is good stuff and strongly recommended. Tasted: Apr 15, 2014. Drink: 2022+